For broadband applications, Radio Frequency (RF) receivers are exposed to complex environments with multiple simultaneous signals. Strong signals in the environment can create spurious signals within the RF receive path hardware, with signal levels equal to or exceeding those of the desired signals of interest. When spurs exceed the Minimum Detectable Signal (MDS) level of the receiver system, they may result in false reports that greatly degrade the utility of the system. There are many potential sources of spurious signals in typical RF hardware used in broadband receiver subsystems including:                Single-Tone Harmonic Spurs (i.e., second and 3rd harmonic).        Multi-Tone Intermodulation Spurs        Mixer spurs resulting from complex interactions between Local Oscillator (LO), RF, and IF ports        Spurs that exist on Local Oscillators        Leakage Spurs        
These potential spurious sources have different behavior characteristics that define the RF power and frequency of the spur relative to the strong signal that causes them. For 2nd order single harmonic spurs, a strong signal at frequency F1 causes a weaker spurious response at frequency 2*F1. For every one dB (1 dB) increase in power of the strong signal, the spur amplitude increases by two dB. This is typically quantified by a “Second Order Intercept Point” metric. For higher order spurs, the ratio that the spur increases per unit increase in strong signal power can vary significantly, as quantified by other intercept point metrics. As the order increases, some of the spurs may be less troublesome than others because an RF preselection filter may provide some rejection.